Ornithology

Due to a major collections renovation, the Ornithology Department will be closed to loans and visitors until approximately September 2027.

Ornithology, the study of birds, is one of the founding disciplines of the Natural History Museum. At the core of the program is a research collection of 121,000 bird specimens, representing over 5,400 species. Our collections are particularly strong for North America, Africa, South America, and the Pacific Ocean. The bird skeleton collection, representing over 17,000 individuals, is among the three largest in western North American and is an important resource for the museum’s well-known studies of fossil birds.

Research

• Study skins: can be used for studying coloration, getting DNA, morphology, stable isotopes, parasites, molt, reproduction
• Skeletons: morphology, references for paleo work and zooarchaeological (including functional anatomy)
• Data: localities can reflect distributions in time and space
• Tissue collection: resource for different types of molecular studies
• We are also a resource for field guide illustrators and fine artists 

Resources

Birds of LA County
Birds of Exposition Park

SEARch our Collections

The ornithology collection can be searched online through VertNet, iDigBio, or GBIF.  Our institution code is LACM and our collection code is Birds.

Collections Use, Loan Policies & Depositing Specimens 

CONTACT US

Questions? Contact us at birds@nhm.org.